Wonder Woman
Diana is the daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and the adopted sister of Troia. =Background= Pre-History Earth, over three thousand years in the past. The clear sky opens up and a rain falls forth, onto the still waters, but it is not a nurturing rain, but the souls of women whose lives were ended in violence falling to the Earth once more from Gaea\'s Womb and into the rich clay of the lake. Bursting forth from the tranquil surface, a new race is born, Amazons, all. Granted the gifts of the five midwives, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, Hestia and Demeter, these women were to go forth and show man the way of peace and loving submission. The Amazons were to be the greatest of mortals and help mankind to its true destiny, and to prove that the gods still lived! Their mission was one doomed to fail from the start. The mad god, Ares, bent on world domination, began to set in motion a way to thwart the Amazons. Through trickery, Ares sent Heracles, the famous son of Zeus and a mortal, after the Amazons. With him he brought Theseus. The Amazons greeted Theseus, Heracles and their men with the traditional hospitality of Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. And for their trust and faith, the Amazons were betrayed. In one brutal night, their number was enchained, slaughtered and raped as the men saw fit. Only the twin queens, Hippolyta and Antiope were spared the worst of the humiliation. Hippolyta prayed for freedom from Heracles men, and Athena granted it on the condition that the Queen take her Amazons and leave peacefully. Hippolyta freed her sisters, and they responded to the brutality displayed by Heracles\' men with a ferocity unmatched by mortals! Routed, the soldiers and the son of Zeus fled, leaving only dead behind. Bloodied and bruised, but their spirits unhampered, many of the Amazons wished to chase the men and finish what they had started, among them, Hippolyta\'s beloved sister, Antiope. The Goddesses, for punishment for disobeying their orders, would punish them harshly. Those with a like mind of Antiope split from their sisters and took up the chase once more, rejecting the Gods who had allowed them to suffer such humiliation and pain. Those who remained were sent to an Island Paradise away from Man\'s World, Themyscira, perfect save for one flaw, Doom\'s Doorway, a gate housing monsters of unspeakable evil and relentless hatred, who routinely destroyed the gateway holding them captive and spilled free. Daughter of No Man Aside from the occasional battle with the beasts who slipped free of the gateway to hell, Themysicra truly was Paradise. The Amazons were granted immortality on their island of peace, and safety from the outside world of men. As further punishment, all Amazons wore bracers symbolic of their slavery at the hands of Heracles\' men. For nearly three thousand years, Paradise Island was a happy place for Queen Hippolyta. The Amazons thrived, they grew and they learned more day by day, though they were not technologically advanced in the least. But... Something was missing from Hippolyta\'s life, and always had been. Praying to the goddess Athena for the wisdom to recognize what she missed, the goddess told the Queen to sculpt from clay a beautiful child. Following Athena\'s advice, Hippolyta put all her love into the creation, and when she was finished, there stood a lifelike toddler, save for its coloration. And then the child breathed, blue eyes opening, filled with wonder. Hippolyta was overjoyed, and while she cradled her daughter, the Midwives (and Hermes) blessed the child with extraordinary powers, even for Amazons. This child was to have a destiny, it had been decided, to continue the Amazonian tradition of teaching. The Contest Named Diana after the only mortal woman to ever find Paradise Island, the child was taught the ways of the Amazons by her loving family. A very extended family, of several thousand aunts and sister Amazons. She was raised to worship the gods, and her naivity was nutured and cherished among the Amazons, who had never raised, nor loved, a child so fiercely before. The young princess was safe everywhere on the island but Doom\'s Doorway, for none of the beasts of the island would harm her, so intune with nature was the child. Many amusing stories arose from the princess\'s use of her Gods\' given gifts of flight, strength and speed. At the age of sixteen, she was given the bracelets all Amazons wore as a symbol of their slavery, however temporary, at Heracles\' hands. It was not long after, by Amazon reckoning, that the second mortal to find Paradise Island crashed just off shore. Diana, not knowing what the \'screaming bird\' was, but seeing that the jet had a person trapped inside, dove off a cliff without a second thought, parting through the waters as effortlessly as a diving bird. Utilizing her strength, the princess pulled free the cockpit hatch and freed the pilot, dragging him to land. Themysciran healers took care of him. The gods, however, were not pleased to have a man on the island, and decreed that it was time for the Amazons to go forth to Man\'s World once more and spread their message of peace, starting with a champion, who would be determined in a contest. Forbidden from competing in the contest by her mother, young Diana disguised herself in a helmet that covered her features, as all the Amazons did.. On an island of literally thousands of women, one more covered face was hardly noticed among the competitors, and Diana swiftly bested all in the various contests, just as the gods had intended. Soon, only Diana stood as champion. At the behest of the queen, young Diana removed her helmet, revealing herself before all assembled. As Hippolyta was about to forbid Diana from leaving, Zeus himself ordered that Diana be recognized as the rightful champion. Filled with both pride and regret, Hippolyta gifted Diana with items from the gods, themselves. A lasso forged in Hestia\'s fire from the original Girdle of Gaea, which made all wrapped in it speak only truth, indestructable so long as order existed. The bracelets of Athena, forged from her shattered Aegis, silver and indestructable, and, when crossed, creating a mystical field to protect the user. Armor forged by Hephestus to protect the wearer\'s most vital body parts. With these gifts and a heavy heart, the young princess set forth to Man\'s World with the prone Air Force pilot, Steven Trevor, cradled safely in her arms, to set foot on Man\'s World. Agent of SHIELD Over the next year, the Amazon princess set about trying to change Man's World by example. Much like her mother, though, her heroic exploits overshadowed her mission and Diana found herself floundering in a strange world where she understood so little. Helping to reform the Justice League, Diana found that she alone among her teammates did not have a private, mortal life. Establishing a Themysciran embassy and bringing the Amazons into the mortal world once more brought Diana great joy. But how could she lead these mortals when even their day to day lives were a mystery for her? During the second wave of Plagues, Diana prayed for guidance from Athena, wisest of the gods, and in a dream, her prayer was answered. As the gods of old did, Diana would go in disguise among the people she chose to protect, and lead from their level, rather than from above. Waking, Diana found herself changed from the Amazon into the Mortal. Of shorter build, even her face seemed slightly changed. And there stood Grey Eyed Athena, smiling at her. Athena explained to Diana that she had been stripped of her immortality and the Amazon powers that made her more than Mortal. But that should Wonder Woman be needed, Diana need only transform and once more, the Amazing Amazon would spring into action. But what was Diana to do, now? In the guise of Wonder Woman, Diana called upon old contacts of her mother's, and a new identity was created for her. Taking the last name her mother had taken during World War II, Princess Diana of Themyscira, Ambassador to the world for the Monarchy of Themyscira became simply Diana Prince, Agent of SHIELD. For Diana could not stand by and do nothing... The gods would not take /that/ away from her. With a confused heart and a clouded mind, the Amazon Princess started her new mission. Living among the mortals. The Ares Agenda For six months, Diana worked as an Agent of SHIELD, helping in little ways, living among the mortals, being one to the best of her ability. But something was missing... And there were darker things on the horizon... When the Metahuman Registration Act resurfaced and was actually passed, Diana was the first to register. And only hours after going public, the Amazon and her neighbors were nearly killed during a superhuman power struggle between Diana and several assassins from the hidden city of Bana-Mighdall. With her point proven and her body and spirit badly injured, Diana retreated from the Embassy and from the world, briefly, returning to Themyscira where the island itself helped heal her. Recovered in mind and body, Diana returned to Man\'s World more determined than ever to make a difference. But mere months later, the Amazon Princess would again be sorely tested by the Bana-Mighdall, and the Children of Ares. Attacking Washington, DC in droves, the Bana-Mighdall, aided by creatures straight out of myth and legend, as well as the War God and his children, nearly captured the capital... If not for the actions of brave heroes from the mortal world and the swift actions of her mother, her sister and General Phillipus, who led an army of Amazons to counter the Bana forces. Beaten and humbled by the Amazon Champion, Ares retreated from Man's World for the time being, charging Diana with countering his influence wherever it may be felt. =Logs= *2009-06-04 - Rise of the Condiment King - Condiment King and his cronies try to steal from a jewelry store. *2010-02-12 - The KGB & The Gods Play - The KGB attack the Russian Embassy and when things seem tense enough, the Amazons take their Godly brawl to the streets from their Embassy! Category:Characters Category:Features Category:Hero Category:Taken